Popular

August 1, 2011

Asphalt Fuels Coming Heat Domes

by Sam Savage

PHOENIX, Aug. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Department of Energy "Urban Heat Island Group" has been studying global thermal images, weather anomalies, Urban Heat Island and heat domes for over 8 years. According to Emerald Cities(TM) USA Ltd., as early as 2003, DOE was offering suggestions towards mitigating the looming threat of rising Urban Heat. Amidst citizens trying to do their part by painting their roofs white, pundits persist in confusing the public into general apathy with two arguments: (1) climate change is a hoax, or (2) Urban Heat Island mitigation is not cost effective. Unfortunately, father time marches on no matter what humans think, and now the future has arrived last month with a heat dome covering 30 states where people were dying and power was going out. Wakeup America! It's time to get real about why the cities are hot.

The Truth About Asphalt

Its not rocket science ... asphalt is hot! It's hotter than roofs and there is more of it, averaging 150 degrees-170 degrees (F) on 100 degree (F) summer days. Three things no one can escape in today's world is Death, Taxes and Asphalt. What started out as oil mixed with rocks to coat a dirt road for a model-T, now lines every street, parking lot, school yard, sports court, and walkway in cities of the world. We have smeared it over the entire planet to drive cars on, poured it on our roofs, allowed it to run off into streams polluting our waters, and have even tolerated the off-gases to poison our kids in school play yards on hot days.

Asphalt Heat Islands Cost $ and Life

Millions of stimulus dollars went to resurface roads with more black tar while millions of Americans were still out of work, hoping and waiting for green jobs. Question: Why didn't they use some of that money to develop a "greentech" solution for more advanced road coatings? Answer: Asphalt roads are a major player in America's continued addiction to oil and amidst an economic crisis, lots of people still make lots of money. But as the cities are facing rising temperatures and the government debates the debt ceiling, can we really afford to continue to protect the special oil interests and "taboos" of changing the "rules of the road"?

What's worse is that in the name of green, they now recycle rubber tires, and mix it with hot asphalt ... who are they kidding? It's more expensive per mile to put down, it's a toxic cocktail to the water, and is blacker than ordinary asphalt which means it provides even less heat relief. But asphalt industry leaders insist it solves the noise pollution problem! Excuse me, what? We are not in a battle against noise pollution!

As a woman, it's disgusting when my high heel sinks into the gooey hot asphalt in the summer just trying to get out of my car at the Fashion Island Mall. If you want to know why women (America's #1 consumers) stopped shopping at malls in the summer, this is it! A Phoenix woman also recently passed out from the heat on hot asphalt and went to the hospital with third degree burns. In a nation struggling in a debt crisis, looming oil shortages, and heat waves, the whole practice of putting more oil based tar on the roads has to stop. It is costing the nation in rising oil costs, causing rising heat and energy consumption, and resulting in deadly blackouts which are now costing human lives.

Living in a 21st Century Twilight Zone

The real nightmare is yet to come in the next few years, when continuing triple digits bring city terror with stifling dead air, an overworked power grid, blackouts and more deaths. So what is it about asphalt that is heating up the cities anyway? Would you believe, it's not the oil, not the tar, and not the hot rocks. Oh my God ... it's the color! No question that roads are the basis for all human commerce, but who decided that roads should be black? Seriously, do you think people would be dying and power would be going down if asphalt city streets were 30 degrees-50 degrees (F) cooler?

"It's like we are living in a bad Twilight Zone episode, where an advanced civilization uses its resources and technology to build a promising new world which turns our to be a giant skillet where the people cook themselves to death."How could we be so stupid? Q: Who is responsible?A: "We have met the enemy and he is us!" Even POGO, the cartoon character could figure this out. But in case the average American hasn't stopped to think about it yet, here are the facts: According to NASA Earth Orbiting Satellite, heat sinks in the cities can be seen as thermal images, and drilled down on Google as the following types of properties: ... read more